As is known to those skilled in the art a conventional playing card comprises a piece of specially prepared heavy paper, thin cardboard, or thin plastic, configured with distinguishable markings (known as Indicia) and used as one of a set of 52 for playing card games. Playing cards are typically palm-sized for convenient handling. A complete set of cards is called a ‘deck’ and the subset of cards held at one time by a player during a game is commonly called a ‘hand’. A deck of cards may be used for playing a great variety of card games, some of which may also incorporate gambling.
In general, tradition and conservatism bears quite heavily on the design of playing cards as are used in commercial gambling settings such as casinos, poker rooms and televised card game events such as televised poker.
The front surface of a given card carries markings that distinguish it from the other cards in the deck and these markings determine the use of the card under the particular rules of the game being played. The markings thus function as ‘card identification elements’ and typically comprise one of four suit indicia and one of thirteen value or ‘pip’ indicia. Thus a common variety of a deck of playing cards comprises the following suits: hearts, diamonds, clubs and spades. The respective cards of a suit are thus effectively numbered 1 through 13, the pip indicia thus typically comprising the relevant symbol ‘A’ for Ace, respective Roman numerals 2 to 10, ‘J’ for Jack, ‘Q’ for Queen and ‘K’ for King. A conventional deck of cards thus comprises 52 cards (or 54 when two additional cards known as ‘Jokers’ are included). The back of each card is typically of a design that is identical for all cards in any particular deck and this may thus be termed the base design. The base design may thus merely comprise the back surface being of a uniform colour without any pattern being involved. As is known to those skilled in the art the back faces of playing cards have, to date, sometimes been used for incorporating subject matter that is in addition to the base design. Such additional subject matter is known to comprise a variety of forms, such as, for example, images and/or text comprising alphanumeric characters. It is also known that such additional subject matter may relate to commercial information, such as, advertising information, concerning particular goods and/or services as are offered by a particular business entity. In professional card games, in contrast to the back surface, it is conventional to keep the front surface free of subject matter other than that relating to the value of the card. Thus unlike the back face it is generally required that the front face does not comprise subject matter which is of a type that is not directly related to the card value because such additional subject matter may crucially interfere with a player correctly recognizing the value of a given card.
Following a boom in popularity, arguably starting in 2003, poker has become a widely broadcast event on television, attracting large audiences worldwide.
FIG. 1 schematically illustrates, in perspective view, a typical prior art televised poker type setting 100, in which playing cards of a conventional type are in use on a known poker tournament table 101. Poker table 101 is associated with a playing surface 102 that is typically circular so that a number of players 104, 105, 106, 107 and 108 participating in the game are positioned around the table at roughly the same distance from a person 109 dealing the pack of cards (the ‘dealer’). The majority of a pack of cards is generally indicated at 110 in front of dealer 109 on table 102.
Televised poker games have relatively recently gained great popularity with viewers worldwide and this is, in part, due to the invention of the so-called ‘hole-card camera’. A hole-card camera is essentially a TV camera that is built into the construction of poker table 101 and which is configured to focus on the front surface of a hand of playing cards that are present on or near to the playing surface of the poker table. To achieve this a known configuration is such that the hole-card camera is positioned below the table surface and the cards are dealt onto a window type area of surface 102 (typically made of a transparent material such as glass) such as that indicated at 111 as is positioned for use in relation to player 106. Thus as player 106 is dealt cards these are positioned on window region 111 so that the hole-card camera below can view the value of the cards that have been received. The hole-card camera thus electronically images these cards and electronically transmits the images so that an audience (watching the game on television) can see the value of the cards. Each player is thus associated with a respective window of the type 111 and a hole-card camera located beneath table surface 102.
Typically poker table 101, players 104 to 108 and dealer 109 are located in a suitable lighting environment such as the lighting environment that is generally indicated at 113. Lighting environment 113 comprises a plurality of suitably positioned lighting devices (lamps) such as those indicated above table 101 at 114 and 115. In addition, above poker table 101, there is also typically provided a television camera arrangement so that filming (image recordal) may be performed from above. In FIG. 1 a television camera 116 is shown as positioned to film player 104 to the right of the figure and camera 116 is located on and moveable about a circular rail 117 so as to capture images of the game as it progresses below in relation to the players and dealer who are located around table 101.
FIG. 2A further details, in side elevation/cross section view, the known poker tournament table 101 of FIG. 1 and it illustrates the relative position of player 106 with respect to window 111 on surface 102 of poker table 101. A hole-card camera as referred to above in relation to FIG. 1 is schematically illustrated at 201 in a position below surface 102 in order to view and image window region 111. Window region 111 is illuminated from underneath table surface 102 by virtue of a suitably configured lighting device, such as, for example, a lamp 202. Illumination device 202 is substantially located in front of player 106 and configured to illuminate the underside of window region 111 so that camera 201 can effectively and clearly view one or more cards that are positioned on window region 111. By way of example a card 203 is shown in FIG. 2A as located on window region 111. In the example card 203 is facing down such that the face comprising indicia is facing surface 102.
FIG. 2B further details, in perspective view from above poker table surface 102, player 106 and window region 111 as viewed by camera 116 located above table surface 102 and above head height of the dealer and players.
As with many sporting and/or gaming type events that are shown on television sets and the like via broadcasting, cable or satellite, incorporation of information, such as, for example, advertising information, on the images that are viewed by persons watching is generally highly desirable. As such there is a constant desire to provide new devices, mechanisms and systems for facilitating the transmission of such information to the viewers of such events. Notwithstanding this desire there are certain types of events that are hindered in this regard by virtue of professional requirements of various kinds. A good example of the latter is the game of poker and the problems associated with televised poker are described below.
As mentioned above, televised poker games have relatively recently gained great popularity with viewers worldwide and this is, in part, due to the invention of the so-called ‘hole-card camera’. Known hole-card cameras capture and transmit images of the game as viewed by the cameras. In card games, such as poker, the focus of the attention of the players and any spectators is predominantly on the front surfaces of the playing cards, because the front surface of a card specifies the value of the card. Use of the hole card camera in televised poker event production lends itself to potentially exploiting a satisfactory means of incorporating desirable additional subject matter, such as, for example, images and/or alphanumeric text on one or both of the surfaces of playing cards. Such desirable subject matter may, for example, comprise commercial information of one sort or another such as advertising information. By ‘additional subject matter’ it is herein meant, in relation to the front surface of a playing card, subject matter that is in addition to the card identification subject matter. If desirable additional subject matter could be satisfactorily incorporated on playing cards and, in particular on the front surface of a playing card, used in a televised card game there would thus be provided a means of transmitting such additional subject matter to the customers/viewers of the event via the images of the game that are captured by and transmitted by a suitably configured imaging device such as a television camera. The problem is that the desirable additional subject matter to be captured and transmitted must be such that its presence is satisfactory from the point of view of the player or players of the card game. By satisfactory it is meant that the additional subject matter must be specifically concealed or impeded from the viewpoint of the card player or players at critical junctures of the game. As is known to those skilled in the art arguably the most critical juncture of the game for the players of a poker game is the point at which they first view their hole cards.
Currently the front surfaces of cards used in televised poker events are generally not used for displaying information such as information for advertising purposes because this would necessitate some alteration to the recognizable and traditional ink markings (indicia) which distinguish each card in the deck or at least would involve inclusion of such information elsewhere on the front surface. Incorporation of desirable information, for example, advertising information, achieved either through modifications to these ink markings or through modifications to other regions of the front surface of the cards, would therefore interfere with the players ability to quickly and easily recognize his/her holding and would thus be particularly inappropriate in formal and competitive game-play settings where stakes can be very high, such as modern televised poker tournaments. In view of this, there exists a technical problem with known playing cards as are currently used in televised poker and the like in that incorporation of additional information of one sort or another on the playing card front surfaces is highly undesirable because of the fact that known devices, mechanisms and systems for achieving this interfere with a player's ability to recognize a given card quickly and accurately.
Improved types of playing cards have been developed for various purposes over the years. Two examples are discussed as follows.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,654,050 in the name of Whalen-Shaw was published on Aug. 5, 1997 and relates to a laminated playing card (and a method of making a playing card) that aims to combine the most favourable features of both paper and plastic playing cards. The cards in accordance with U.S. Pat. No. 5,654,050 are, as compared with the desire to solve the aforementioned technical problem, thus merely configured to improve the durability, while at the same time not reducing the stiffness, or ‘snap’, as is known in the art, of the playing cards.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,681,324 in the names of Karabed Razmik and Mehrbians Raphael is entitled ‘Holographic Game Cards’ and has a publication date of Jul. 21, 1987. U.S. Pat. No. 4,681,324 discloses playing cards wherein a part of or the whole of a given indicia is formed as a holographic image.
Holography is a form of optical information storage. A hologram is sometimes referred to as an OVD, or ‘optically variable device’, by those in the art. Although the cards according to U.S. Pat. No. 4,681,324 provide benefits in certain gaming environments they do not offer a solution to the aforementioned technical problem because they in fact provide the opposite effect to that which is sought. In other words, as those skilled in the art will understand the central aim of playing cards according to U.S. Pat. No. 4,681,324 is to permit a player of a card to see information (in particular the indicia, made up of holographic images) on the card whilst specifically preventing other parties (other players and spectators) from doing so.
As those skilled in the art will appreciate it is also noteworthy that, given the filing and publication dates of U.S. Pat. No. 4,681,324 and the descriptions of the embodiments, although not specifically stated as such, the holographic technology relied on is of the type where a reflective metal type backing is integrally present in order to provide the holographic images. As such, playing cards as are configured in accordance with U.S. Pat. No. 4,681,324 inherently interfere with the recognizable and traditional appearance of the front surface indicia markings of the card and thus interfere with a given player's ability to quickly and accurately identify the card at critical junctures of the game.
In view of the above there is thus a need for an improved deck of playing cards that comprises a form of playing card that overcomes the aforementioned technical problem and which is therefore satisfactory for use in televised card games.